Chapter XV.
How a monk must always be eager to preserve his purity
of heart.
It
is like the case when
one endeavours to strike some mighty prize of virtue on high, pointed
out by some very small mark; with the keenest eyesight he points the
aim of his dart, knowing that large rewards of glory and prizes depend
on his hitting it; and he turns away his gaze from every other
consideration, and must direct it thither, where he sees that the
reward and prize is placed, because he would be sure to lose the prize
of his skill and the reward of his prowess if the keenness of his gaze
should be diverted ever so little.
839
839
Compare a similar
illustration in the Conferences I. v.